TY - JOUR
T1 - The role of emotional competencies in predicting medical students’ attitudes towards communication skills training
AU - Givron, Helene
AU - Desseilles, Martin
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank our medical students for answering our questionnaire and the University of Namurʼs Traineeships Commission for allowing us to collect data during their traineeship in general medicine.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/10
Y1 - 2021/10
N2 - Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether stress, depression and emotional competencies can help to predict medical students’ attitudes towards communication skills training (CST). Anxiety and negative attitudes towards CST have been shown to be linked. Conversely, emotional competencies (EC) were associated with positive attitudes. Exploring these psycho(patho)logical variables therefore seems to be a promising approach to better understanding, or even modifying, attitudes towards CST. Methods: 179 third year medical students were asked to complete the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale Self-assessment (MADRS-S) and the Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC). Results: 168 students completed the entire questionnaire. The stepwise regression model first revealed that, taken together, intrapersonal EC “Utilization” and interpersonal EC “Expression” account for 17% of the variance in positive attitudes. Secondly, taken together, intrapersonal EC “Utilization” and interpersonal EC “Expression” account for 16% of the variance in negative attitudes. Conclusion: The more competent a student is in “Utilization” and “Expression”, the more positive attitudes and the less negative attitudes he/she has towards CST. In addition, measuring a large set of bio-psycho-social factors might be a way of capturing more variance in attitudes towards CST. Practice implications: In the study of variables influencing attitudes towards CST, emotional competencies cannot be ignored. The context of the medical consultation encourages the discussion of various emotions felt by the patient. As educationalists, we should prepare the student for this by integrating the notion of EC within the CST.
AB - Objectives: This study aims to investigate whether stress, depression and emotional competencies can help to predict medical students’ attitudes towards communication skills training (CST). Anxiety and negative attitudes towards CST have been shown to be linked. Conversely, emotional competencies (EC) were associated with positive attitudes. Exploring these psycho(patho)logical variables therefore seems to be a promising approach to better understanding, or even modifying, attitudes towards CST. Methods: 179 third year medical students were asked to complete the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale Self-assessment (MADRS-S) and the Profile of Emotional Competence (PEC). Results: 168 students completed the entire questionnaire. The stepwise regression model first revealed that, taken together, intrapersonal EC “Utilization” and interpersonal EC “Expression” account for 17% of the variance in positive attitudes. Secondly, taken together, intrapersonal EC “Utilization” and interpersonal EC “Expression” account for 16% of the variance in negative attitudes. Conclusion: The more competent a student is in “Utilization” and “Expression”, the more positive attitudes and the less negative attitudes he/she has towards CST. In addition, measuring a large set of bio-psycho-social factors might be a way of capturing more variance in attitudes towards CST. Practice implications: In the study of variables influencing attitudes towards CST, emotional competencies cannot be ignored. The context of the medical consultation encourages the discussion of various emotions felt by the patient. As educationalists, we should prepare the student for this by integrating the notion of EC within the CST.
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2021.03.015
U2 - 10.1016/j.pec.2021.03.015
DO - 10.1016/j.pec.2021.03.015
M3 - Article
SN - 0738-3991
VL - 104
SP - 2505
EP - 2511
JO - Patient Education and Counseling
JF - Patient Education and Counseling
IS - 10
ER -
